Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1451 Schindler's List is ignored by Jews

"The CinemaScore of Philadelphia was very polarized. The scores on the East and West Coasts were very high. Not only did it reach an A+ score, but two-thirds of the audience wrote more than one sentence in the post-screening market survey card.

But the scores in the Midwest and Deep South were terrible, only around B, and the box office potential was terrible. Cinema Score felt the need to give us a more detailed report than a simple score, and the official report will be delayed for a few days..."

"Understood. I've talked to Medavoy of TriStar Cinema. We'll increase the number of theaters on the east and west coasts and in major cities. Thank you, Michael."

A week after its premiere, Philadelphia was still only playing in limited theaters in Los Angeles and New York, first to build up word-of-mouth among audiences, and then to take advantage of the hard-to-get tickets situation to do some marketing to potential audiences.

Just like some particularly popular restaurants, during peak meal times, there will always be queues waiting for a table at the door, and people nearby who see it will know that the food at this restaurant is particularly delicious.

Ronald and consultant Michael Gray discussed the next steps based on the feedback, then called Medavoy of TriStar Pictures to revise the release plan.

"What are you thinking about? Honey, I'm going to change my clothes." Diane saw Ronald, who was a little dazed after the phone call, and came over to touch his face. She didn't know what he was thinking about.

"It's okay. Do you want me to help you?" Ronald woke up from his thoughts and made a joke about Diane.

"Oh? Oh, there's still an hour left. If you come to help me again, we'll be late. No, no." Diane was in high spirits, but when she saw the time, she quickly ran to the changing room to try on clothes.

Today is the premiere of Spielberg's "Schindler's List". When Ronald's "Philadelphia Story" premiered, Spielberg and his wife attended. According to human relations, he should return the favor and also attend the event with his wife in formal attire. They are all people in the circle.

Diane went to change her clothes, and Ronald fell into deep thought again. He just told Mike McDavoy on the phone that he would not go to the premiere of "Schindler's List", and many Jews would not go either.

Although Medavoy is a liberal Jew and does not believe in Judaism, this film tells the most tragic page in Jewish history and has the feel of a Jewish national epic.

This experience during World War II, and the differences among Jews in beliefs, values, attitudes towards Israel, etc., would not affect their unity in watching this movie, right?
European Jews generally believe that no more films reflecting the Holocaust should be made, because any attempt to recreate this tragic experience could not show even one percent of the truth and would be a blasphemy.

But the Jews in America were thousands of miles away during World War II and did not have that kind of feeling. So why did the Jewish group in Hollywood secretly boycott this movie at the premiere?

Ronald, who was confused, called Richard and asked him to keep an eye on the situation. This matter was a bit strange. It seemed that Spielberg's road to the Oscars would not be smooth this time.

After making a few phone calls and taking a short break, Diane dressed and walked out. She wore a navy blue coat with high shoulder pads, a white shirt with a complicated collar, a Cartier bracelet and ring given by Ronald, and a small bag. She looked like the female CEO of a listed company.

"Well, feeling very working girl today..."

"I feel like you have a taste for this kind of outfit..." Diane scratched Ronald's chin.

"Twenty more minutes? Um..." Ronald hugged Diane's waist from behind, then asked softly in Diane's ear from behind her neck.

"Oh……"

……

Little Bud drove very fast and managed to save some time on the road. When they arrived at the premiere, most of the stars had already entered.

Ronald also wore a white shirt and a dark blue navy jacket with double-breasted brass buttons undone. His business attire added a touch of romance, which matched Diane's outfit perfectly.

"Ronald..."

"Steven, Kate..."

From a distance, Ronald saw Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw standing at the door. Today, they were dressed very formally. Spielberg wore a dark suit, light grey pants, and a conservative grey tie, as if he was attending a ceremony in a synagogue.

Kate Capshaw, the woman who changed her religion for Spielberg, was dressed in Jewish elements from head to toe today. She wore a long skirt that covered her from neck to ankles, which was exactly what the orthodox Jews required of women. In addition, she wore a long necklace on her chest, and the golden pendant was clearly a deformation of the Star of David.

"Welcome..." Spielberg was obviously not in a good mood. I don't know if it was because of the collective absence of Jews or the sad tone of the movie itself, but he was unwilling to smile.

"I brought a handkerchief with me. The newspaper said that no one could watch a movie without feeling sad."

Spielberg finally showed a little smile on his face, and there seemed to be a smile at the corners of his bearded mouth. "Let's talk about it later. Tell me what you really think."

"certainly……"

Ronald and Diane walked in and looked around him, surrounded by non-Jewish stars, such as Catholic Alec Baldwin and his newlywed German wife Kim Basinger.

There are also several stars of "Schindler's List", Liam Neeson and his girlfriend Natasha Richardson, Ben Kingsley, and the villain Ralph Fiennes.

Ronald was looking for a seat in the aisle when suddenly another guest came up behind him.

"Pierce?"

"Ronald? I'm really lucky to run into you today, Diane...it's been a few years since we last met?"

The person who came was the TV star, Pierce Brosnan, who played the role of Steele Legend. He had previously acted in a Coca-Cola commercial with Diane. The lady next to him, an unknown actress, saw that Brosnan was actually friends with Ronald, and she couldn't wait to come up...

However, Ronald did not give her a chance. He just chatted with Brosnan for a few words and then found his seat and sat down.

Ronald and Diane's seats were further back. He looked at these handsome actors, and suddenly, a scene he had dreamed of on the plane came to his mind.

Those are two 007 movies, both starring Pierce Brosnan. The shot of the plane flying over the dam and then 007 jumping off the dam is very impressive.

Alec Baldwin is handsome enough, and his wife Kim Basinger can also be a Bond girl. The couple's performance is also a marketing gimmick. However, there has never been a precedent of an American playing James Bond. American handsomeness and British handsomeness are also quite different, and the audience can tell them apart intuitively.

Ralph Fiennes is a very good actor and looks handsome as Bond, but his teeth are so messy. Unlike the British and Americans, their parents don't invest so much in their children's teeth.

Liam Neeson, the actor who plays Schindler, is actually qualified. He is tall and has the style of Roger Moore. And when he speaks, walks, and sits, he has the ability to make people unconsciously focus on him. To play the world's most famous spy, this kind of temperament that focuses attention is actually very necessary.

The last one is Pierce Brosnan. His handsomeness and temperament are fully qualified for the role of 007. The only shortcoming is that his movements are not powerful enough. Compared with Sean Connery and Roger Moore, his temperament does not have the murderous aura that can kill people with one punch.

Moreover, he is just a TV actor, and Liam Neeson has already played the leading role in Spielberg's movie. Not surprisingly, no one wants to support him, and the investors probably have to take a big risk by choosing him.

Ronald suddenly smiled, even though Her Majesty the Queen of Britain had mentioned to him twice that she wanted to take over the 007 series herself and reshape Britain's cultural image.

But after his inquiries, he found out that the copyright of this movie is now fragmented, which is very troublesome.

At first, the copyright of James Bond was owned by United Artists. The original author Ian Fleming handed the adaptation rights to producer Albert Broccoli. Later, United Artists was acquired by MGM, and the copyright also came to MGM. Albert Broccoli's adaptation rights were bound to Timothy Dalton's 007, and Dalton had another film contract.

Things got into a mess after that. MGM merged with Menahan Golan's Cannon Pictures, and later merged with Italian financial speculator Giancarlo Parretti's Pathé Entertainment. The filming rights fell into the hands of this international financial swindler who did nothing in Hollywood, didn't make any movies, and only dated female stars.

Giancarlo Paretti's wishful thinking was to use the worthless Pathé Entertainment shares to acquire MGM's huge film library and the rights to the filming of long-standing series of films such as 007. Then he would divide these valuable parts and sell them separately on the market to make money.

However, MGM's original owner, the Armenian casino tycoon Kerkorian, was more cunning than him and left a big loophole in the sales contract. After careful study by his lawyer, Giancarlo Parretti found that the copyright of MGM's film library was not included in this merger agreement.

As for the sale of 007, there are many potential buyers, and the bids are high enough for Giancarlo Paretti to earn some cash and escape quickly.

However, as soon as the news of the sale was exposed, producer Albert Broccoli, who had authorization from the author Fleming's family and had signed a production and distribution agreement with United Artists, immediately sued MGM, accusing Giancarlo Parretti of not complying with the agreement. With Timothy Dalton still having one film contract left, the copyright of 007 should belong to Albert Broccoli's company.

Although Giancarlo Paretti, the great liar, quickly countersued, the verdict of the case was no longer important. After the news of the sale was delayed by the lawsuit, his financial scam was soon exposed and he faced prosecution for financial fraud in Europe and America.

What's worse, the French bank Credit Lyonnais, as the creditor owner before all the 007 copyright claimants, acquired the remaining valuable things of MGM, including the 007 filming rights.

So far, the movie 007 has just climbed out of the deep pit of financial fraud, and was kicked into the deep pit of copyright disputes.

Ronald's team gave him an estimate that the next James Bond movie might not be released until Credit Lyonnais had tried all possible options and found that it could not sell, and then would return to work with producer Albert Broccoli.

These bankers do not have a deep understanding of the entertainment industry, especially Hollywood. After they have tried all the pitfalls in the market, they find that they still have to cooperate with the original producers to make some money, which will take at least six months to a year.

Although in various urban legends, Hollywood accountants can fool Wall Street. But facing the liquidation of bankers, there is actually nothing these people in Hollywood can do except wait.

The lights went down and the opening music from Schindler's List started.

“Wow, this is a completely black and white interpretation?”

After watching the beginning, Ronald found that the film did not return to color as he expected, but was in black and white throughout.

But he thought about it again, this is also a clever artistic treatment. It not only has a heavy sense of documentary, but also makes the tragic tone heavy for the audience.

This movie was shot, printed, edited, and finally produced as a screening copy using real black and white film. It is different from the black and white tones simulated on color film. The black areas are more layered, like a thick black area in an oil painting, which directly touches the audience's heart and makes people feel depressed.

I sat there until the middle of the film, when Schindler saw a girl in a red coat walking slowly down the street during the liquidation of the Krakow Jewish district. This gave the audience, who had been suffering for a long time, a chance to relax.

This is one of the few places in the film that has color. And compared with the light colors in those places, the red coat is very bright. The fate of the Jews in the film is just like the emotions conveyed by the black and white film, destined to be destroyed.

Only this little girl gave people hope for life. But soon, the little girl was found and killed, and the hope that people would have sympathy for the Jewish people and hope that their fate would improve was quickly shattered.

The treatment of first uplifting and then downsetting made the audience's mood, which had just improved, suffer another heavy blow. With a bang, some sobbing occurred on the scene. But the sobbing was very low. Most of the audience were still in a state of uncomfortable pressure, and they couldn't even cry.

When Schindler saw the body of the little girl, he changed from a profit-seeking businessman to someone who felt the call of humanity and began to actively seek some space for the Jews to escape.

At the beginning of the film, Jews lit candles at the Sabbath ceremony, but when the smoke cleared, they were facing a concentration camp where they were headed for death. Later, Schindler allowed factory workers to light candles on the Sabbath, and the picture once again showed a light color, meaning that Jews in this place have become human beings again, instead of being driven, deprived, and executed like goods...

At the end of the film, the fake documentary technique was returned. Some actors and survivors of the year placed stones on Schindler's tombstone to pay tribute (this is a Jewish custom). Finally, Liam Neeson, who played him, placed two roses in the middle of the stone.

"How about it?"

After talking with the audience, Spielberg went to the lounge to ask Ronald for his opinion. As a Jew, he was very nervous about filming the epic of suffering of his own nation, and no Jewish people came to the premiere...

"I would never shoot it like this..." Ronald drank some Coke and felt relieved from his heavy mood, "But the way you handled it is good, it's perfect..."

"You used the word perfect?" Spielberg didn't expect Ronald to use this adjective.

"Do you believe it? Critics and some Jewish social activists will definitely criticize you. But ordinary Jewish audiences will like it, non-Jewish audiences will like it, and all self-respecting directors in Hollywood will appreciate it very much."